Applying fairness in subnational carbon budget allocations

Area of Science:

• Climate Science
• Environmental Economics
• Political Science

Background:

• Global warming necessitates alignment of net-zero targets with carbon budgets.
• Fair division of global carbon budgets across nations is established, but subnational allocation remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop a distributive justice framework for allocating national carbon budgets among subnational regions.
• Distinguish between consumption- and production-based emissions budgets for equitable allocation.
• Inform political processes for equitable carbon-neutral transformations.

Main Methods:

• Develop a distributive justice framework for subnational carbon budget allocation.
• Propose a qualified equal-per-capita allocation for consumption-based emissions.
• Introduce the Equal Transition Opportunity Production-Based Allocation (ETOPA) mechanism for production-based emissions.

Main Results:

• Quantified subnational distributions of production- and consumption-based emissions budgets for the European Union.
• Framework accounts for regional basic needs, historical responsibility, and benefits from past emissions.
• ETOPA mechanism addresses heterogeneous regional economic structures and transition risks.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework offers a just method for subnational carbon budget allocation.
• This approach can guide equitable carbon-neutral transformations within regions.
• The study provides a novel approach to distributive justice in climate policy.